Richard Brasher, the former UK chief executive of Tesco, is on the verge of taking a senior role at a major retailer in South Africa, the Evening Standard has learned.
The Tesco veteran, who left the grocery giant in March, is thought to be joining Pick n Pay, which is one of Africa’s largest retailers in food and general merchandise with 775 stores.
Brasher is thought to want to make a fresh start in South Africa after his high profile exit from Tesco, following a disagreement over strategy with the supermarket chain’s chief executive, Philip Clarke.
The timing of his expected hiring at Pick n Pay comes before Tesco unveils its half-year results tomorrow.
Tesco, which has operations in 13 countries, is set to post a 11.7% fall in group pre-tax profits to £1.52 billion over the half-year to August 25. This reflects its £1 billion investment programme to turnaround its UK performance and forecast losses of £70 million at its struggling US business, Fresh & Easy.
Deutsche Bank, Tesco's joint house broker, expects it to deliver a 0.1% rise in UK like-for-like sales in its second quarter, an improvement on the 1.5% fall in the previous three months. A Pick n Pay spokesman said: “We have not signed any senior appointment with anyone at all,” but declined to comment on Brasher. Pick n Pay is currently looking for a new chief executive. Brasher did not return calls.
